Jarred Brooks is ONE's newest strawweight king following his stellar showing at ONE Championship 164, and his improved stand-up game was on full display.
'The Monkey God' is known for his dominant wrestling, but his hands were a primary weapon against former long-time champ Joshua Pacio. Afterward, Brooks spoke on his striking at the post-fight presser; saying:
"Shoutout to coach Glove at Glove University. Shootout to my coach James Lee, he’s been working with my hands for a while. And shoutout to Justin Scoggins as well for helping me with my movement and my striking."
Brooks gets his training done at Mash Fight Team in Farmington Hills, Michigan. The 32-year-old has been nothing short of spectacular since signing with ONE, earning wins over top-five foes like Hiroba Minowa and Bokang Masunyane.
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Check out Jarred Brooks' full ONE 164 post-fight presser via SCMP MMA below:
Jarred Brooks speaks on difficulty of taking Pacio down
Entering the strawweight title bout, most expected Brooks to be dominant on the ground if he were to get the win. But that's not exactly how things transpired.
'The Monkey God' revealed what made Joshua Pacio so difficult to take down. In his post-fight press conference, he stated:
“I solidified my takedowns, like I said with the spinning back kicks and stuff like that. I would take advantage of that. But he was super strong. He did a very good job to alleviate anything I was trying to take him down with. He made me use my hands.”
Brooks' ability to still defeat a dominant champ like Pacio while not utilizing his gameplan to the fullest extent speaks to the newly-crowned champ's talent.
As for what's next, Jarred Brooks knows that a rematch with Pacio is certainly in the cards, considering the former champ's long reign at the top. Elsewhere, fresh faces in the top five include Gustavo Balart and Danial Williams.
Interestingly, 'The Monkey God' has expressed interest in facing current flyweight champ, Demetrious 'Mighty Mouse' Johnson. Regardless, you can expect a highly-anticipated and entertaining fight if Brooks is involved.